Irish parents are splashing more than ever on Christenings – spending up to €200 on their own outfits alone

Irish parents are splashing more than ever on Christenings – spending up to €200 on their own outfits alone

Independent.ie

Welcoming a new baby already comes at a huge expense, but new research has found that Irish parents are contributing to their financial blip by spending more than ever before on their child’s Christening Day.

Welcoming a new baby already comes at a huge expense, but new research has found that Irish parents are contributing to their financial blip by spending more than ever before on their child’s Christening Day.

New research has found that a third of Irish parents are spending up to €500 on the Christening party with many admitting to splashing €200 alone on a new outfit for themselves.

The research, conducted by One4All, pooled the Christening Day expenses of more than 1,366 Irish parents and found that 34pc spend between €250 to €500 on a Christening party, while 14pc spend more than €500 celebrating the big day.

Despite the spend, 45pc of Irish parents admitted that their baby wore a second-hand outfit for the Christening but the remainder said they would purchase a new gown for the day.

More than a third of mums also revealed they’d pay a trip to the hairdressers ahead of the ceremony.

“Christenings are a very traditional celebration of life in Irish culture and more and more we are seeing parents treat the occasion like a mini wedding,” said Aoife Davey of One4All.

“From the gown and matching blanker to catering the after party, it’s a huge pressure and expense on parents,” she said.

The research also found that Christening guests also feel under pressure to give a nice present to the new baby.

“Guests are clearly also feeling the pressure and expense of Christenings but seem at a loss as to what to give as a gift to the child being baptised,” Ms Davey said.